The Crest High School Lady Lancers took on their third giant Friday, facing Eureka in the War on 54 Basketball Tournament championship.
The 1A Lady Lancers earned their spot in the title game against the 2A Eureka Tornados (ranked fourth in the state by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association) after once again overcoming the odds in Thursday’s pool play finale with a 39-32 victory over the 3A Iola Mustangs.
“I can’t remember the last time we played in the War on 54 finals. I can’t tell you how proud I am of the whole team,” Crest coach Steve Zimmerman said.
With only a single basket separating the Mustangs and Lady Lancers following the third quarter, Zimmerman threw caution to the wind, running a man-to-man, full-court press.
It worked. Crest went on a 22-11 run to secure the win.
Senior guard Josie Walter said keeping the press together against Iola’s attack was not easy.
“Brooklyn Holloway is tough to guard. She’s the toughest player I’ve ever guarded,” Walter said. “She’s quick. Coach Zimmerman had me face guard her, which made me a little nervous because at any moment she could break away and make a layup.”
Senior guard Aylee Beckmon had a team-leading 13 points in an otherwise team effort. Senior guard Kaelin Nilges posted 11 points; her two fourth-quarter 3-pointers shifted the momentum of Thursday’s contest.
“It ticked me off when they said we can’t shoot the three,” Nilges said. “I’m normally not a shooter, but when I get mad I tend to play better.”
DESPITE making the 1A state playoffs last year, Beckmon said Thursday she believes playing with a chip on their shoulders against larger programs is a great motivator. She was aware Crest will receive Eureka’s best effort when they meet in the finals Friday.
“They’re going to play well against us. We train and come to play for whatever and it pays off,” Beckmon said.
WITH the win, the Lady Lancers improved to 11-1 and extended their win streak to six games. Iola fell to 3-11 and faced Anderson County in the third-place game Friday.
“We had a good defensive strategy, and it showed because we held them to 6 and 7 points in the first and second quarters,” Iola coach Emily Sigg said. “It was seven in the third quarter and 22 in the fourth that just killed us. I could only substitute six players. It’s hard, because they get so run down, but they had a great attitude until the fourth quarter, when you could see their shoulders slump.”
Freshman guard Haidyn Desmarteau’s 11-point performance was one higher than junior guard Zoie Hesse for the team lead in scoring, followed by Holloway with 6 points, then freshmen forward Breighlynn Rutherford with 3 points and freshman forward Cameron Wille with a bucket.
“We struggled on offense, and it’s hard, but we did well on defense,” Sigg said. “I would rather struggle on offense than defense and it’s something we’re going to have to work through — trusting each other a little more. We’re young, but they can do it.”
Results from Friday’s third-place game were also unavailable at press time.
